For Singer, the exhibition is an opportunity to showcase his paintings on a larger scale. Although the theme of Childhood Mythologies offered Singer the opportunity to touch on social issues, the artist is purposefully withholding commentary or explanation. “The paintings are different parts of my life, and I put them together like a puzzle,” the artist explains. “I think if I say too much it ruins it, so I leave it up to interpretation. I want other people to weave their own stories into it as well.”

Please Note: The gallery will ask for a $5-$25 donation in support of the artists at the door. Doors open at 6:30 pm and music starts at 7 pm.

“This is my emerging from the cocoon, as it were,” says Maurice Oliver. The musician, originally from New York City, will perform pieces from his still-developing album, “Santa Fe Sweet”—the first music he’s produced since moving to Eldorado in June 2018. “This wonderful place informs everything about the music from what sounds I program in the synthesizers to what other instruments I’m putting together.” Accompanied by his brother Steve and bassist Gary Paul Hermus, on February 23 Oliver will unveil his reactions to his new environment in an immersive concert experience forged from abstract visuals and unconventional, highly eclectic music.

Oliver’s music incorporates elements of electronica, downtempo, house, techno, jazz, funk, soul, and worldbeat. He draws from a wide range of influences, beginning with the summer conga drums and church gospel music he heard growing up on Staten Island and leading to his study of orchestral percussion at the Juilliard School of Music. Living in Amsterdam in the late 1980’s,when the city was a burgeoning center of electronic production, introduced Oliver to influences from across the world. The result is the musician’s unique, texturized aesthetic: a modern music which is neither exclusively organic nor exclusively electronic.

“I knew from an early age that our native identity is so rich that we shouldn’t just hold it to a specific ceremony or spiritual practice,” Heidi Brandow said during a studio visit in 2016. “In my eyes, art is a tool that helps mark history, time, place and memory. Who’s to say pop culture are not equally as important as star sticks?”

“As an artist with an active arts practice, a full-time commitment to the Institute of American Indian Arts, and a family,” says Heidi. “I am grateful for Ucross’ support in granting me the time, space, and resources to enhance my craft and create in such a beautiful setting.”

To learn more about Heidi, please inquire or call us at (505) 216-1256.

Click here to view more works by Heidi Brandow in our collection.

Scroll below to read excerpts from our 2016 studio interview.

Do the monsters have names, or story lines?

For me personally, they don’t have names, and there’s no story behind any of them. I try not to put too much of my own self into them. I don’t want to over personalize it. These are a nice outlet for me to create work that is lighthearted, that is easy. It’s very fluid. I feel like when people see it, they get it immediately. Whether you like it or you don’t like it, it’s a visceral thing. It’s not too theory-based.

I want my work to reach everyone. I don’t come from a community or people that are heavy academicians. In fact, I would argue that the art world has largely blocked out people of color from participating in art to a large extent.

On the other hand, I think a lot of the work I do is a little heavier. This is a nice outlet, where I can just make work that is more lighthearted and fun.

I never entered the art scene on the basis of promoting myself or my work as Native art. Not because I was shying away from it, but because my idea of Native art was a lot of very cultural referenced work, such as very specific tribal motifs and designs. The stuff that I was doing wasn’t like that. I never felt weird about it, because I always felt like my Native identity is already in this work, whether or not there’s symbols or direct references to cultural place. The simple fact that I’m Native and that this is the work that I’m making, there’s no way of denying my heritage and my experience, or saying that it’s not implicitly in the work. I don’t believe it has to have direct references to culture and place.

Culturally Native people are so diverse and our experience is so diverse. If you look at someone like myself, being Native Hawaiian and Navajo or Dinè, they’re two entirely different cultures. They’re both Native, but it’s ocean and desert people. That’s only the first difference, right? Of course we have a lot of similar cultural values, but it’s like night and day in a lot of ways.

For me personally, they don’t have names, and there’s no story behind any of them. I try not to put too much of my own self into them. I don’t want to over personalize it. These are a nice outlet for me to create work that is lighthearted, that is easy. It’s very fluid. I feel like when people see it, they get it immediately. Whether you like it or you don’t like it, it’s a visceral thing. It’s not too theory-based.

I want my work to reach everyone. I don’t come from a community or people that are heavy academicians. In fact, I would argue that the art world has largely blocked out people of color from participating in art to a large extent.

On the other hand, I think a lot of the work I do is a little heavier. This is a nice outlet, where I can just make work that is more lighthearted and fun.

New Mexico School for the Arts is in the midst of renovating and repurposing their new Railyard location, and they’re wasting no time injecting fresh creative energy into the arts district. The arts high school collaborates with form & concept on NMSA First Thursdays, a monthly performance series featuring new, experimental, and collaborative work by NMSA students and faculty. The series was co-founded by Kurt Isaacson, Hakim Bellamy, and Sandy Zane in spring of 2018, and has featured student performances from all five arts departments at NMSA: visual art, theater, dance, music, and creative writing.

Program

The Art of Text Painting

NMSA students share both poetry and music inspired by their work on “text painting,” the technique of evoking the emotions present in musical composition. The evening will feature student readings and performances curated by Denise Hinson, Coordinator of Creative Writing, and supported by Darci Balkcom, Voice Instructor & Vocal Division Coordinator.

Whether they’re gelatin silver prints or daguerreotypes, there’s one thing that most all photographs have in common: they’re flat. For a new group exhibition at form & concept, ten artists from across the United States shatter this convention by applying craft media to photography—and vice versa. Hand/Eye presents images with the texture and volume of sculptures, vaulting a medium that’s often trapped behind glass into the viewer’s sphere.

Whether they’re gelatin silver prints or daguerreotypes, there’s one thing that most photographs have in common: they’re flat. For a new group exhibition at form & concept, eleven artists from across the United States shatter this convention by applying craft media to photography—and vice versa. Hand/Eye presents images with the texture and volume of sculptures, vaulting a medium that’s often trapped behind glass into the viewer’s sphere. The artworks in the show incorporate a wide array of materials, including fiber, cast glass, micaceous clay and human hair. Call it super-alternative process photography.

Introductions

We’re excited to announce that Kylee Aragon is our new Administrative Coordinator! Kylee was born and raised in Albuquerque, NM. She received a BFA in Art History from the University of New Mexico. Kylee began her gallery experience at Tamarind Institute, where she developed a deep love for works on paper. While Kylee is not a printmaker she is a self-proclaimed print nerd who enjoys speaking in great detail about process, paper, and the print market. She is excited to bring her passion for art to form & concept.

New Mexico School for the Arts is in the midst of renovating and repurposing their new Railyard location, and they’re wasting no time injecting fresh creative energy into the arts district. The arts high school presents a special performance series at form & concept, hosted by faculty members and showcasing outstanding student musicians, fiction writers and poets. Make sure to mark your calendar for NMSA performances on the first Thursday of each month.

New Mexico School for the Arts is in the midst of renovating and repurposing their new Railyard location, and they’re wasting no time injecting fresh creative energy into the arts district. The arts high school presents a special performance series at form & concept, hosted by faculty members and showcasing outstanding student musicians, fiction writers and poets. Make sure to mark your calendar for NMSA performances on the first Thursday of each month.

Performance
ppoacher ppoacher & Sevda Choir

Thursday, September 6, 7:30-9 pm

The gallery will ask for a $5-$25 donation in support of the artists at the door.

Caitlin Brothers is going places—specifically, all across the Southeastern United States. “The new tour passes through Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Kentucky, Louisiana, and Texas,” says the Santa Fe musician, who performs under the moniker ppoacher ppoacher. “I’m trying to split it between familiar territory and places I’ve never explored.” That’s a good way to describe her musical repertoire for an upcoming Matron Records tour launch event at form & concept. Brothers and her new bandmate Nathan Smerage will perform songs from the band’s 2017 debut album, along with some new material they’ve written together. She’ll also sing traditional Balkan music with Santa Fe’s Sevda Choir, which welcomed her into its ranks a few months ago.

PerformanceNMSA First Thursdays / September

Thursday, September 6, 6 pm

New Mexico School for the Arts is in the midst of renovating and repurposing their new Railyard location, and they’re wasting no time injecting fresh creative energy into the district. The arts high school presents a special performance series at form & concept, hosted by faculty members and showcasing student musicians, fiction writers and poets. This month’s event includes readings by three young writers, and a music program of small-set jazz duos curated by Jazz Studies teacher Orlando Madrid. Make sure to mark your calendar for NMSA performances on the first Thursday of each month.

New Mexico School for the Arts is in the midst of renovating their new Railyard location, and they’re wasting no time injecting fresh creative energy into the arts district. The arts high school presents a special performance series at form & concept, hosted by faculty members and showcasing outstanding student musicians, fiction writers and poets.

PROGRAM

This month’s program is curated by NMSA faculty members Kurt Isaacson (Music) and Denise Hinson (Creative Writing).